Sporty reliable saloon c£5k

[vanman1936]

Helping my mum find a new car. She likes something with a bit of go, with 4 doors and prefers the more mid to upper brands (always had BMW). Ideally not too old, so 2005 onwards.

We got her an E90 330 2005 petrol auto last time, however it has been a bit of a dog, constant problems. Shame as goes and handles well. Were we just unlucky?

What would poples shortlist’s be, reliability important.

Thanks

[landmarker]

Honestly, I think you have some prioritization to do between premium image and reliability.

BMW/Audi/Mercedes from this era were average in terms of reliability, even when new. A premium car which is now 5K, maybe 7-10 years old will come with some miles, some complexity and some risk.

Plenty of people buy these cars and are very happy with them, the happiest ones accept the risks and have the financial means to cope if something major goes wrong.

If you have to go down that route, I would forget about a particular brand/model and look for something in your budget with a perfect service record, all the cam-belt changes done at the right time, ideally one or two private owners...

If reliability comes before image, I would look at something younger, maybe Japanese, probably with a petrol engine.

Edited by landmarker on Monday 9th July 12:35

[ZX10R NIN]

I'd say a Lexus IS250 ticks a lot of boxes, they handle well enough not 3 series levels but not far off, look for one with Nav as that means you get the Mark Levinson stereo (which makes a big difference) with heated & air cooled seats as standard & the Sport models come with an LSD. but you lose the leather.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

[Heaveho]

ZX10R NIN said:

I'd say a Lexus IS250 ticks a lot of boxes, they handle well enough not 3 series levels but not far off, look for one with Nav as that means you get the Mark Levinson stereo (which makes a big difference) with heated & air cooled seats as standard & the Sport models come with an LSD. but you lose the leather.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Yep, agreed, beat me to it.

[junglie]

ST220